Really nice delicate flavors! We tried 9 different pastas, and would say their speciality/Japanese fusion ones are the ones that stand out most! The other pastas are good, but nothing that stands out. If you want to try new flavors, give the mentaiko or squid ink a go.The Uni pasta was fantastic!
Stoked to have found a Japanese fusion restaurant serving all things I love - uni, pasta, and wine. Best part about it is, it comes with a price point that doesn't break the bank. Their menu offers everything pasta with options that will make it hard to decide what to get. They also serve a basket of bread on the house and a salad with your pasta order. I was able to try 3 various dishes here with my party and all of them had perfectly cooked al dente spaghetti. Their Uni (sea urchin) Pasta was truly a slice of heaven and though the serving of uni was fair, one just can't get enough of it that it's expected you'd wish there's more. I like the Mentai (cod roe) Pasta equally the same, though others at our table think this is far superior in taste than the uni and I respect that. Not a fan of seafood? Don't worry, you'll be blown away by their Carbonara Pasta like I was. Rich, creamy, and decadent in every spoonful, I call this dish my ultimate comfort food. So good. The restaurant does not take reservations but they currently have outdoor seating which expanded the capacity - just not sure if it's temporary due to Covid. Parking is free in the plaza but being that it is in Little Tokyo, you may be hard pressed in finding a spot so go for street or pay parking structures nearby as back-up.
There’s now seating outdoors
The best Japanese pasta restaurant owned by local Japanese located in Little Tokyo. You can’t miss this restaurant if you’re a pasta lover. Mentaiko flavor is the most popular dish here. The sauce is rich and creamy. And spaghetti is not too hard. You can mix spaghetti and the sauce together easily. For women, the serving size is just a right amount. Men might need large size instead. All in all,
Japanese pasta in LA (with US portions!). "Japanese pasta" is typically spaghetti with sauces that have a milder taste or Japanese twist. Bold flavors, very consistent and usually served fresh out of the pan. Bolognese for classic Italian meat sauce or Tarako for classic Japanese spaghetti. Bread and small salad come with. Ask for balsamic vinegar and olive oil for the bread.Pro-tip: skip dessert and get matcha soft serve from Green Tea Master store few doors down.
Oh Lala, is this one of the most amazing pasta heaven or what? Been there couple of times for each time I was visiting LA. Was recommended by a friend of mine who's very into exploring new restaurants. Located in Little Tokyo downtown LA, Pasta E Pasta probably one of the restaurant hidden but not hidden if you know what I mean.You would think Italian people makes the best pasta, but in this case, it might not. Pasta E pasta by allegro is owned by Japanese. Their pasta is uniquely flavored, has some fusion hits. Everything is always super fresh, I usually don't go back to the same restaurant when I'm on vacation, but Pasta E pasta definitely draws me back!Their chicken gizzard soup was one of a kind, the gizzard was so soft, although I like them big chewy, but still very tasty.Uni pasta is to die for, in both counts when I was visiting it taste awesome. The sweetness of uni, the perfect textured pasta, mixed to be one of the most amazing dish there. Squid ink pasta has been popular for the passing couple of years and the one made by Pasta E pasta as richly flavored, they definitely not stingy about the squid ink.Even on the first time I had to order to go due to Covid, still taste delicious even when I open it when I was in the airport.Everything is fresh and tasty. Highly recommended !!!
Saw this place from Mikey Chen's review and had to try it. Got the uni pasta, squid ink pasta, fruite de Mari, and Mentai pasta. I would rank the squid ink first, it just taste good, simple yet very flavorful. 2nd would be the uni, it's good but nothing too special. Third is the seafood pasta, the muscles were cooked perfectly, the best muscles I ever had in a pasta. Plump and perfect fresh. Lastly it's the Mentai, not that it's not good, I don't like creamy pastas and this one is much more creamier than the uni. All the pastas were cooked perfectly. Not too soft. The side salads were really good and refreshing. Only bad part of this place is the parking. Other than that, it's a must try!!!
When I think about my fav restaurants in LA to introduce my friends to when they’re visiting, this place is def in the top 10. I’m not even a big Italian food guy. But the way they make all their dishes, it just feels warm and cozy to the Asian palate, and I love how much attention to detail they put into everything. The uni pasta as everyone had mentioned is to die for as well as their mentai Japanese pasta (although this was from the summer, hope it’s still around!)
Pasta E Pasta is fantastic. It started in Japan as Italian fare with a Japanese flare. It expanded to several restaurants in Japan and finally one came here to Little Toyoko in Downtown Los Angeles. It is amazing. You can get uni on pasta if you want. The place is small in a little strip mall right next to Little Toyoko on 2nd Street. The parking fee for the mall is 6$, but if you take a look you can find free street parking, just mind the signs--we have lots of signs here. It is the last storefront in the little strip mall. It has a lot of great outdoor seating and the inside is lovely. The entire place is spotless and you know someone cares very much about this little eatery. The service is so kind and sweet. They will help you with the menu, which is not huge, but big enough. They serve beer and wine, but I don't think they serve liquor. I am not sure. You can use their digital menu or they will give you a real menu to look at. Get that because it tells you the history of this great place. They don't have a lot of different pastas, it is spaghetti noodles cooked to perfection. They have a seafood spaghetti which is just loaded with super fresh seafood. The red sauce is amazing. We also had spaghetti with meat. Now, I could swear it was filet, but I can't be sure. All I know it that it was sliced thin and it was so tender and so tasteful it had to be a great cut of steak. It also had vegetables. It was just marvelous. The dinners come with a great salad that has a house dressing that is so tasty. It is Italian food with a Japanese flare in that some of the dishes have uni. You can have pasta with squid ink, Japanese style cream sauce with cod row and mushrooms or noodles with cod row and squid garlic sauce. There is enough to choose from to make everyone happy. They also have a very nice wine selection. They have a bar, like a sushi bar but for pasta and the seats looked ever so comfortable. They have a nice wine list. The bathrooms look like your home. They are spotless, well stocked and designed nicely. We just love this place and will be back. Have the best time.
I would recommend this place if you are in neighborhood wanting some good pasta.The serving portions are sizeable and comes with ciabata bread bun, butter, and salad. We go ours to go, which could have made it not as good as they could have been. (Ex. Overcooked pasta, less saucy)Uni pasta - Sweet and subtle. You taste the hint of uni as it's well incorporated into the sauce (I keep thinking it was tomatoes based due to how naturally sweet it was, but you see bits of uni in every bite)Mentaiko creme pasta - flavor packs a punch, super rich and creamy. The sauce is thick and coats the pasta really over.I much preferred mentaiko creme over the uni as it had more/stronger flavor. This could be my mistake ordering this dishes together (or eating mentaiko first) as uni flavor wasn't as profound.We got our order to go and didn't get to it until 30-40 min after. The pasta overall was great (tad over cooked, but it could be due to it sitting in the container). Best advise is to eat it right away if you can and get to Uni before other ones.